Sometimes, a ceremony may only be performed by a person with certain authority. For example, the State Opening of Parliament|opening of the United Kingdom Parliament is presided over by the Sovereign (Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II ). A captain or a higher-ranked naval officer usually supervises the naming and launching of a warship. A wedding is performed by a priest or a Civil Celebrant, as in Australia . The President of the United States is customarily sworn in by the Chief Justice of the United States , and the British sovereign is always crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury .
Celebration of events
Other, society-wide ceremonies may mark annual or seasonal or recurrent events such as:
vernal equinox , winter solstice and other annual astronomical positions
weekly Sabbath in Christianity|Sabbath day
inauguration of an elected office-holder
occasions in a liturgical year or "feasts" in a calendar of saints
Other ceremonies underscore the importance of non-regular special occasions, such as:
coronation of a monarch
victory in battle
In some Asian cultures, ceremonies also play an important social role, for example the tea ceremony .
Process
Ceremonies may have a physical display or theatre|theatrical component: dance , a procession , the laying on of hands. A declaratory verbal pronouncement may explain or cap the occasion, for instance:
I now pronounce you husband and wife.
I swear to serve and defend the nation ...
I declare open the games of ...
I/We dedicate this ... ... to ...
Both physical and verbal components of a ceremony may become part of a liturgy .
